Seared Scallops With Herb Butter Pan Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Cut 2 tablespoons of the butter into pea-sized pieces, put it on a small plate, and stick it in the freezer. Heat a large skillet over medium-heat high for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil and wait for the butter to melt.
• Pat the scallops dry with paper towels, add them to the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper; work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the skillet. Cook, turning once, until they are well browned on both sides but not quite cooked through, 2 minutes per side (less if the scallops are under 1 inch across; more if they're over). Transfer the scallops to a plate.
• Stir in the garlic, lemon juice, and wine and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet with a spatula. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the liquid in the skillet thickens, a minute or two, then whisk in the butter you chilled in the freezer, one bit at a time, to make a creamy sauce, adding another tablespoon or two of liquid if necessary.
• Return the scallops to the skillet and add the chives. Adjust the heat so the sauce bubbles gently and toss to coat the scallops with the sauce. To serve, transfer the scallops to a platter and spoon the sauce over all.
• Variation:
• Seared Scallops With Cherry Tomatoes and Basil: Skip the lemon juice. Cut 1 pint cherry tomatoes in half. Add the tomatoes with the garlic and wine and cook until they wrinkle a bit and release their juice, 2 or 3 minutes. Use chopped fresh basil leaves instead of chives.
• Cooks' Notes
• Releasing From The Pan: The scallops will offer no resistance when they're ready to turn. Press down gently while the scallops cook to encourage full contact with the pan, then listen for a hiss: That's moisture heating and evaporating.
• Getting A Good Sear: The idea is to brown the scallops well on both sides without overcooking them, so keep the heat as high as you can without creating too much smoke.
• Building Sauce With Butter: After you add the liquid and deglaze the pan, the addition of butter develops fantastic creaminess and richness.
• Finishing The Dish: As soon as the scallops are cooked through completely and coated with the sauce, remove the pan from the heat; they will continue to cook. Nick-and-peek into one if you need to check for doneness.

Steps:

• Pat scallops dry with paper towels; sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add scallops; sear for 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and firm. Remove from the skillet; keep warm., Wipe skillet clean if necessary. Saute garlic in remaining butter until tender; stir in sherry. Cook until liquid is almost evaporated; stir in the remaining ingredients. Serve with scallops.

Steps:

• Bring large pot of water to rolling boil. Add generous amount of salt to water and cook linguine to just before al dente.
• Season scallops with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Sear scallops about 2 minutes on each side; remove from skillet to a plate and cover with foil. Set aside.
• Add shallot and garlic to the same skillet and saute until softened.
• Add the wine and cook until reduced to almost gone.
• Add the clam juice and reduce by about 1/2.
• Add red pepper flakes, the herbs, capers, lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with pepper to taste and add the butter.
• Add the cooked and drained linguine to the skillet; allowing the liquid to be absorbed and the sauce coating the pasta.
• Transfer to a serving bowl placing the seared scallops on top.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, oregano, thyme and lemon pepper. Roll scallops in flour mixture until lightly coated on all sides.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet or frying pan over high heat. Add 4 scallops to the pan and sear on all sides (about 2 minutes for each side). After turning scallops, add 1 tablespoon parsley and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Remove scallops from pan and place on a plate in the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.
• Repeat until remaining scallops are cooked, tossing each batch with parsley and lemon juice.